Radio Talking Book in transition

Listeners are thanked for their patience as staff dealt with challenges at the station. Please note that April will be one more month of rebroadcasting previously aired books. Staff and volunteers are recording 65 new titles. Those will be heard starting in May. The Radio Talking Book and State Services for the Blind staff thank everyone for their patience. 

Volunteer readers sought

Radio Talking Book is seeking volunteers to record books and periodicals for broadcast. This a fun and rewarding volunteer opportunity. Contact Roberta Kitlinski at 651-539-1423 or [email protected] to learn more. 

Use an app to hear programs

Radio Talking Book is not just for listeners with visual disabilities. It can be an asset for people whose disabilities limit hand movements, making it difficult to read a book.

Enjoy programming anytime and anywhere on a hand-held mobile device, for either iOS or Android. Visit the Apple App Store for iOS, or Google Play for Android, and download the Minnesota Radio Talking Book app. It provides a convenient way to tune in wherever and whenever.

Books broadcast on the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network are available for loan through the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library in Faribault. The catalog is at www.mnbtbl.org, click on the link Search the Library Catalog. Call the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library at 800-722-0550, Mon-Fri, 9 am – 4 pm CST for details.  

Persons living outside of Minnesota may obtain copies of books via an inter-library loan by contacting their home state’s Network Library for the National Library Service. 
The sampling published monthly in Access Press doesn’t represent the full array of programming. More programs and books are available. 

To find more information about Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network events go to the Facebook site, Minnesota Radio Talking Book. Audio information about the daily book listings is also on the National Federation for the Blind (NFB) Newsline. Register for the NFB Newsline by calling 651-539-1424. 

The NFB-NEWSLINE service provides access to more than 500 magazines and newspapers, plus information on COVID-19 in the “Breaking News” section. To learn more, visit www.nfb.org/programs-services/nfb-newsline.

Donate to the State Services for the Blind at mn.gov/deed/ssbdonate 
Listen to RTB’s live or archived programs online at www.mnssb.org/rtb 

Chautauqua*Monday – Friday 6 a.m.  

The Body: A Guide for Occupants, nonfiction by Bill Bryson, 2019. Writer and researcher Bill Bryson turns his inquisitive mind and humorous perspective to the wonders of the human body. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 22 broadcasts; begins Tue, April 5. 

Past is Prologue*Monday – Friday 11 a.m.  

Accidental Presidents, nonfiction by Jared Cohen, 2019. Hear the stories of the transitions of eight U.S. vice presidents who took on the presidency upon the deaths of their presidents. Read by Roger Sheldon. 22 broadcasts; begins Mon, April 4.  

Bookworm*Monday – Friday 12 p.m. 

Anatomy of a Miracle, fiction by Jonathan Miles, 2017. A man who became paraplegic years ago suddenly rises from his wheelchair. Is it a medical breakthrough or a miracle? Read by Pat Muir. 17 broadcasts; begins Wed, April 6. 

The Writer’s Voice,* Monday – Friday 1 p.m. 

Agatha Christie, nonfiction by Laura Thompson, 2018. The life of the beloved mystery author is reviewed, including her early years, her relationships, and the secrecy that still surrounds her life. Read by Isla Hejny. 23 broadcasts; begins Mon, April 4. 

Choice Reading*Monday – Friday 2 p.m. 

The Dutch House, fiction by Ann Patchett, 2019. Two young children are left to fend for themselves in a luxurious mansion, after their distressed mother absconds. Read by Myrna Smith. 12 broadcasts; begins Mon, April 4. 

The Department of Sensitive Crimes, fiction by Alexander McCall Smith, 2019. Malmö, Sweden’s Sensitive Crimes Department handles the most peculiar cases. Read by Tom Speich. Eight broadcasts; begins Wed, April 20. 

Afternoon Report*Monday – Friday 4 p.m. 

The World As It Is, Nonfiction by Ben Rhodes, 2018. Presidential aide Ben Rhodes offers an account of life in the Obama White House. Read by Scott Brush. 20 broadcasts; begins Wed, April 6. 

Night Journey*Monday – Friday 7 p.m. 

Justice Comes Home, fiction by Michael Giorgio, 2014. As a small Wisconsin town celebrates the end of World War II, the son of its wealthiest family is murdered. Read by Diane Ladenson. Nine broadcasts; begins Wed, April 6. – V, L  

Bark of Night, fiction by David Rosenfelt, 2019. A detective adopts a dog that is about to be put down. Then he learns the dog belonged to a murder victim, and the man demanding the dog’s death is the likely killer. Read by Neil Bright. Eight broadcasts; begins Tue, April 19. – V 

Off the Shelf*Monday – Friday 8 p.m. 

Flower Towards the Sun, fiction by Marcia R. Rudin, 2017. Two women leave Europe to marry in the US. But a bureaucratic slip places the Norwegian woman with a Jewish tailor in Milwaukee, and the Ukrainian woman with a Protestant farmer in North Dakota. Read by Isla Hejny. Nine broadcasts; begins Tue, April 5.  

If, Then, fiction by Kate Hope Day, 2019. Four neighbors in an Oregon town come across alternate versions of themselves, as a nearby dormant volcano threatens to reawaken. Read by Scott McKinney. Nine broadcasts; begins Mon, April 18. – L, S 

Potpourri*Monday – Friday 9 p.m. 

The Intelligence Trap, nonfiction by David Robson, 2019. Journalist David Robson explains how general intelligence and other traits are crucial to thinking clearly. Read by Jack Rossmann. 11 broadcasts; begins Thu, April 14.  

Good Night Owl*Monday – Friday 10 p.m. 

Why We Sleep, nonfiction by Matthew Walker, 2017. Sleep is vital to our lives and we can harness its power. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 20 broadcasts; begins Mon, April 4. 

RTB After Hours*Monday – Friday 11 p.m. 

The Book of M, fiction by Peng Shepherd, 2018. An epidemic called the Forgetting emerges in India, and spreads across the world. People’s shadows disappear first, and then so do all their memories. Read by Mike Piscitelli. 20 broadcasts; begins Mon, April 4 – L, V 

Weekend Program Books 

Your Personal World, 1 p.m. Sat, presents How Healing Works by Wayne Jonas, M.D., read by Beverly Burchett. 

Rated R, 11 p.m. Sat, presents American Gospel by Liz Enger, read by Scott McKinney. – L 

For the Younger Set, 11 a.m. Sun, presents Love Songs and Other Lies by Jessica Pennington, read by Brenda Powell, followed by The Museum of Us by Tara Wilson Redd. 

Poetic Reflections, noon Sun, presents Poems and Songs by Leonard Cohen, read by Scott McKinney followed by The Poetry Remedy by William Sieghart, read by Scott McKinney.  

The Great North, 4 p.m. Sun, presents Wild and Rare by Adam Regn Arvidson, read by Andrea Bell. 

All times listed are Central Standard Time.